Jessica and Joël Nankman of Hellertown recently completed an intense 380-mile bike ride across Pennsylvania known as “Crush the Commonwealth.”
If the thought of cycling through freezing cold and scorching heat, in pitch-black darkness and glaring sunlight, for 33 hours on a 380-mile route spanning the length of Pennsylvania doesn’t appeal to you, you’re definitely not Joël or Jessica Nankman.
The adventuresome Hellertown couple recently completed such a journey as part of the “Crush the Commonwealth” ride, which takes place most years on the last weekend in April.
The 16-year-old event isn’t an official race and there are no prizes for finishing it, other than the personal satisfaction of having completed it. Times are kept, and Joël said this year’s first place finisher broke the record by completing Crush the Commonwealth in just under 24 hours.
“Jess and I have been playing with the idea for a while and finally bit the bullet this year,” he said. “We mostly do 24-hour mountain bike races, so this was completely new to us.”
On the Nankmans’ cycling blog, Jess summed up the ride experience as “33 hours of wind, rain, sleet, cold, chafing, blisters, with little sleep…all just to ‘ride yer damn bike.'”
The Nankmans said they completed their ride with minimal stops, which was one of their goals. The only sleep they got during the ride lasted about an hour, and was in what they described as “hardbacked chairs” in a gas station seating area along the route.
Out of approximately 25 people who started the ride, Jess was the second female to cross the finish line in Philadelphia, and together she and Joël and tied for 5th place overall.
Jess Nankman of Hellertown prepares to cross the “Crush the Commonwealth” finish line outside Philadelphia City Hall.
The 2021 Crush the Commonwealth ride began and ended in the state’s second biggest city: Pittsburgh. (The start and finish points are reversed every year, alternating between the Steel City and the City of Brotherly Love.)
After leaving Pittsburgh, “the course then goes onto the crushed gravel Great Allegheny Passage giving riders views of the river and canyons while traversing old rail road bridges and tunnels,” the Nankmans said. “After this, it is rural roads of primarily the Bike Route PA S that takes riders through Chambersburg, York and into the Amish country of Lancaster. During this section, the unique Abandoned Turnpike is ridden where there are numerous unlit tunnels to cycle through. Entering the Philadelphia area via Valley Forge, the Schuylkill River trail traverses the last miles on the way to the Liberty Bell.”
Along the way, riders were challenged by a variety of terrain, as well as weather conditions that were nearly as diverse.
“There was so much that happened, seen and experienced. Which was amazing and awesome,” Jess wrote in her post about Crush the Commonwealth on Nankman Adventures in Cycling, which includes video from their memorable ride.
After having officially “crushed it,” the couple said they celebrated upon their return home by enjoying pizza, “adult beverages” and “a well-deserved night of good sleep.”
They’re certainly not planning on hanging up their cycling gear anytime soon, either.
The Nankmans said they’re already making plans to participate in next year’s Crush the Commonwealth ride, which will begin in Philly, “figuring out how to ride faster and more efficiently and finish in a faster time.”
To follow the Nankmans’ future adventures on two wheels, subscribe to their blog and follow them on Instagram (@jjcnankman).